Posted on 06/27/2016 11:36:08 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Maine Gov. Paul LePage may have considered a proposal to prohibit food stamp recipients from using their benefits to buy candy and sodas to be a sweet one, but the Obama administration disagrees.
The friction between the Republican governor and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reignited a debate after the Obama administration denied LePages request to put restrictions on what can be purchased with food stamps.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, LePage said: Its time for the federal government to wake up and smell the energy drinks.
In an interview with The Daily Signal, LePages health and human services chief explained whats at stake.
Certainly as a safety net program where the second word of the programs name is nutrition, it is imperative that we are supporting what constitutes nutritional food and restricting those items that are not nutritional, Mary Mayhew, commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said.
There should be no debate that candy and soda are not nutritional, and we should not be funding with taxpayer dollars the purchase of candy and soda with the SNAP program, she said.
SNAP is short for the the Agriculture Departments Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps.
Last week, the Agriculture Department rejected LePages plan to prohibit Maines food stamp recipients from using them to buy candy and soft drinks.
The rejection letter prompted a fiery response from LePage, who criticized the Obama administration for being hypocritical regarding its commitment to healthy eating in schools.
In a response to Vilsack, the Republican governor wrote:
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
:)
I hear that.
My husband was recovering from cancer surgery when our car quit.
He was out there banging on it in nearly sub zero temps because the cancer nearly wiped out our bank account, and there was no other choice.
It broke my hart that he had to do that!
Really tore me up..he never complained, God love him!
Nobody gave us anything!
Common sense solution is to have those who go on Welfare/Food Stamps/Sect.8 Housing/Medicaid/B.S. SSI Disability voluntarily relinquish their Voting Franchise in exchange....
(& the other 100 anti-poverty programs I can't think of!)
“#23 isnt it ironic these same helpless
Gibmedats have 4-800 dollar cell phones,
Manicured and painted nails and the latest hairdos that I assure you they didnt do themselves?”
I made the mistake early on in this thread of suggesting that some people are in genuine need of assistance when it comes to food. I’ve been flamed the rest of the thread. Yes, there’s lots of fraud, and I despise it. I’d go so far as to say that the government prolly shouldn’t have ANY sort of welfare programs and it should go back to people relying on churches and family for help. I’m a far cry from wealthy and work hard for what I have, so it absolutely drives me nuts to see so many people taking advantage of these programs that are ever expanding that producers such as myself have to pay for. My f**king neighbors all take advantage of various welfare sort of programs and all have better homes, cars, etc than I. I despise it. I’m prolly even eligible for some of these programs myself but am too principled or something to join into it. I spent most of today weeding my garden which is where I get a large portion of my food from. I sell at a farmers market and people pay me with WIC checks that my taxes supply them with. Sometimes I think it would be much simpler if I just gave them the food from my garden for free and avoid the paperwork to pay taxes so they can get their WIC checks to get the food from me. I regret posting that some people really need help with food. I wonder if Jesus regretted it after he said “the poor you will always have with you”.
Yep.
Glad to hear he recovered.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.